Fluted salvage device



y 25, 1954 M. J. STURTEVANT FLUTED SALVAGE DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 21. 1949 INVENIOR Mann J-J'ruzrevmvr ATTORNEY M J STURTEVANT May 25, 1954 E U TLD .-\l WAGE DEVICE I" FhEMp SPPPt 2 1 Med Jan. 21. HMS

INVENW )R JZq/m I. Sn/e "re ma/vr 7 mm M ATTORNEY Patented May 25, 1954 FLUTED SALVAGE DEVICE Mark J. Sturtevant, Akron, Ohio, asslgnnr, by mesne assignments, to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. a corporation of Ohio Application January 21, 1949, Serial No. 71.876

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to a salvage pontoon used for raising sunken ships and the like, and a pariicular object of this invention is to provide a pontoon made of flexible material, preferably rubberized fabric or the like, so that the pontoon may be completely collapsed and oi a minimum weight and size when deflated. Thus, storage or transportation space can be greatly reduced.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a pontoon of this type in which there is a minimum height as compared with the volume to thus get the greatest amount of buoyancy possible with the least amount of over-all heicht, at the some time takine into consideration the maximum permissible tension on the materials employed, etc.

Another object of this invention is to remove the vertical loading on the fabric and subject the fabric only to the difierential inside-outside pressure. This produces a strain on the fabric only in a circumferential direction and due to the dcsicn of the circumferential portion it will be noted upon a careful reading of the specifica tion that this circumferential stress is reduced to a minimum. This is accomplished by forming the fabric in flutes circumferentially. The result of this construction is to increase the lateral dimension as compared to the hcighth-thus increasing the lift for the same over-all heizhth 3 of the saivaue pontoon.

Another object of this invention is to provide (able guides of rubber or the like which resist the tendency of the fabric to creep upwardly as it normallv would tend to do because of the fact that it does not have any vertical loadina. These guides are secured to the outside of the fabric and as the fabric tends to creep upward due to the lifting pressure within the pontoon, the rubber guides are compressed longitudinally to a. certain extent and in effect the tubes form a column under compression and prevent the fabric from creeping upward except to a very limited extent. Therefore. while the fabric is restrained from creeping upward. the tension in the fabric in a vertical direction is substantiallv eliminated Another object of this invention is to construct a salvage pontoon of this type in which the fabrics in the different vertical zones are of different strengths. For example. since the greater pressure occurs at the top of the pontoon, the fabric in that zone is made stronger than the fabric in the lower zones, all of which will be described later.

These and other Objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter as the description of the invention proceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View partly in section showing a salvae'e pontoon made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section through the upper concentration fitting;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the upper side of the salvac'e pontoon showing: the manner in which the ables are connected to the upper concentration fitting, the view being taken in the direction of the line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fill, 4 is a cross section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fla. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken alone the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

The load of the salvaue balloon herein described is concentrated in a series of cables which run from one concentration iittina at the bottom or the bag to a similar fittiniz at the top or the bag. These cables support the load and the fabric used in the has is patterned in such a way that distinct bulges occur between the numerous cables, giving in effect a scalloped cross section to the bag or, to consider these otherwise, provide a series of vertically extending flutes. Alone the lines where the flutes are joined. the salvage pontoon is provided with flexible guides in the form of rubber hose which guide the cables so as to prevent abrasion of the relatively light fabric of which the pontoon itself is made.

It is well recognized that a fabric container of this type will assume a normally tear drop formation due to the vertical loading but it has also been determined that the tension in the fabric is a function of the radius of curvature of the fabric and the pressure within the container. In a cylindrical container the tension in the fabric in the cylindrical wall would be PR in which P is the differential pressure and R is the radius of curvature. In a sphere in which there is a curvature in two directions. the tension in the fabric is PRH2. On a pontoon such as that illustrated, there are two curvatures at rieht angles but not of the same amount as in a sphere; therefore the tension will be somewhat modified but between that of a sphere and a cylinder. It will therefore be very evident that if the radius of curvature of the fabric is materially reduced, the tension in the fabric will also be materially reduced.

In the drawings I have indicated the fabric pontoon generally at I. This pontoon is made up of a series of vertical extending flutes 2 which bulge outwardly to form a scalloped cross section as best illustrated in Fig. 4. In between adjacent flutes there is arranged a hollow rubber tube 3 which, as best illustrated in Fig. 5, is secured to the outside of the pontoon fabric by any suitable means but, as illustrated in Fig. 5, a separate fabric strip 4 overlies the rubber tube 3 and is cemented at its edges to the fabric of the pontoon. If desired, additional layers of fabric 5 and B may be placed about the tube and the inner side of the pontoon to reinforce the fabric of the pontoon at this position but the general idea is that the rubber tube is secured against displacement relative to the fabric and is flexible in order that it will assume the same contour as the flutes, as well as compress longitudinally as the fabric tends to move upwardly under the lifting pressure of the air in the container and the vertical reduction in the fabric due to tension on same transversely of the flutes.

Cables or other similar tension supporting members I extend through the rubber tubes 3, which we will refer to as guides, and these cables are connected at the top to an upper concentration fitting 8, best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The concentration fitting comprises a plate which is dished upwardly at the edges as at 9 and is provided with a series of openings I to receive the rings H which are used to connect the looped ends H on the ends of the cables to the concentration fitting. The plate is clamped to the top of the pontoon by means of bolts l3 extending through the plates 8 and [4 arranged on opposite sides of the fabric of the pontoon.

Similarly. at the bottom the cables are connected to a dish-shaped lower concentration fitting l which is provided with openings I6 around the upper periphery through which the looped ends H of the cables extend. The detail of the manner in which the cables are connected to the respective concentration fittings is not particularly material but it is material that as to the upper concentration fitting, the plate be dished upwardly away from the fabric of the balloon so as to hold the cable and the connecting means for the cable away from the fabric of the balloon as much as possible. This is to prevent abrasion of the fabric and a resulting weakening of the structure.

Normally, the suspending structure comprises only the two concentration fittings and the con necting cables but in the event that these pontoons are to be arranged in vertical series, 1. e.. in tandem relation, it is necessary to place an additional cable or tension element 18 down through the center of the pontoon and to connect it to the two concentration fittings. The method of connecting this cable I8 is best illustrated in Fig. 2. As shown, the cable has the fittings l9 sweated to the ends thereof and the eye bolts 20 and 2| are screw threaded, respectively, through the plates 8 and t5 into the ends I! on the cable.

The bottom of the pontoon is open and air is supplied to the container or pontoon in any suitable manner and, for the sake of illustration; I have shown the tube 22 connected to the upper part of the balloon through a valve 23.

The fabric in the balloon is so constructed as to provide 3 different vertically arranged zones which, for the sake of convenience, I have indicated as zones 24, 25 and 26 indicated by brackets.

As shown in the drawings, the panels 21 in zone 24 are somewhat pie shaped. These panels are thus shaped so that under pressure the outwardly bulging portion near the top side thereof extends outwardly less than near the equator 28, and the transverse radius of curvature of the bulging portion at the top is therefore less than that near the equator. The greatest pressure on the fabric occurs at the upper part of the balloon and therefore the fabric in the zone 24 must be made relatively strong but in the zones 25 and 26 where decreased pressures exist, the fabric may be lighter in weight. The tension in the fabric is lowered by reducing the transverse radius of curvature thereof. Thus the panels 21 would have less tension near the top than near the equator for the same internal pressure, but since the greater pressure is at the top of the panels, the tension in the fabric is substantially uniform. As used in the specification and claims, the term fiute, fiuted" and variances thereof refer to balloons deliberately designed to a shape to provide fluting. even under very small pressures as distinguished from any mere bulging caused by high pressures in between restricted portions of the balloon such as results from the cables extending about the balloons.

The tension in the fabric is dependent upon the radius of curvature which we will designate as R. All tensions are more or less directly dependent upon this value R. and therefore the less value we have for R the less will be the tension in the fabric. For example, if there were no fluted portions in the salvage pontoon the tension in the fabric would be directly dependent on a value R which is substantially equal to half the width of the salvage pontoon or the radius from the center line to the outer surface of the bag. However, with the fluted portions it will be obvious from an inspection of Fig. 4 that the value 12. which is the radius of curvature of the fluted portions becomes relatively small and therefore the tension in the fabric is lessened. Therefore, with the same weight of fabric a stronger salvage pontoon is provided or, conversely, a lighter weight fabric can be employed with the construction shown herein than with the ordinary balloon type salvage bag which is unfiuted. The lighter the weight of the fabric the less the entire salvage pontoon will weigh, with the result that the salvage pontoon may be handled with greater facility. The cost of manufacture will also be reduced as less costly fabrics and materials may be used to get desired results.

There is also shown in the drawings a series of fabric handles 29 connected by finger patches 30 or the like to the fabric of the pontoon. These handles may be spaced about the pontoon for use in carrying the pontoon when it is deflated.

While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A salvage bag comprising an envelope, a concentration fitting at the top of said bag, a series of tension elements attached to said fitting and extending downward around the sides of the bag but not attached thereto, a concentration fitting connecting the lower ends of said elements, and tubular guides secured to the bag in which said elements are slidably mounted, each of said guides being continuous and each extending substantially from the top of the bag to the bottom thereof.

2. A salvage bag comprising an envelope, a concentration fltting at the top of said bag, a series of tension elements attached to said fitting and extending downward around the sides of the bag but not attached thereto, and a concentration fltting conn cting the lower ends of said elements, and flexible tubular guides of longitudinally compressible material secured to the bag through which said elements extend, the elements being slidably mounted in said guides, each of said guides being continuous and each extending substantially from the top of the bag to the bottom thereof.

3. A salvage bag comprising an envelope of flexible material of generally balloon shape, closed at the top and open at the bottom, the walls of the envelope being shaped to provide vertically extending flutes therein of substantial depth, cables arranged in the radially innermost portions of the flutes, said cables being connected together at the top of said balloon and joined at the lower side thereof, said flutes being formed of fabric panels cut to such a shape that the vertically extending central portion thereof is of greater length than the inner vertical edges thereof.

4. A salvage bag comprising an envelope of flexible material of generally balloon shape, closed at the top and open at the bottom, the walls of the envelope being shaped to provide vertically extending flutes therein of substantial depth, cables arranged in the radially innermost portions of the flutes, said cables being connected together at the top of said balloon and joined at the lower side thereof, tubular elements extending from the upper joined portions to the lower side of the bag and surrounding said cables and secured to the bag, the cables being slidably mounted in said tubular elements to permit free movement of said cables through said tubular elements.

5. A salvage bag comprising an envelope of flexible material of generally balloon shape, closed at the top and open at the bottom, the walls of the envelope being vertically fluted, cables arranged in the radially innermost portions of the a flutes, said cables being connected together at the top of said balloon and joined at the lower side thereof, the flutes being pre-formed to provide relatively dee flutes of convex shape when the bag is inflated, the radius of curvature of the flutes in a horizontal plane being of a cross section materially less than that of one-half the overall diameter of the balloon in the same horizontal plane.

6. A salvage device comprising a balloon open at the bottom, the wall of the balloon being formed of outwardly curved flutes extending substantially the vertical distance of the wall, the flutes throughout their length being pro-formed to dimensions laterally and longitudinally to impart a transverse radius of curvature under inflation pressure which is materially less in a horizontal plane than one-half the overall diameter of the balloon in the same plane.

7. A salvage device comprising a balloon open at the bottom,'the wall of the balloon being formed of outwardly'curved flutes extending substantially the vertical distance of the wall, the flutes throughout their length being pre-formed to dimensions laterally and longitudinally to impart a transverse radius of curvature under inflation pressure which is materially less in a horizontal plane than one-half the overall diameter of the balloon in the same plane, the flutes at the lower side of the balloon being made of material having a substantially lesser tensile strength than adjacent the upper side thereof.

8. A salvage device comprising a balloon open at the bottom, the wall of the balloon being formed of outwardly curved flutes extending substantially the vertical distance of the wall, the flutes throughout their length being pro-formed to dimensions laterally and longitudinally to impart a transverse radius of curvature under inflation pressure which is materially less than the radius of the balloon at the same position, and each flute being formed of several panels of fabric material, the panels being tailored to form flutes on inflation which at the center are of substantialiy smaller radius in a vertical plane than adjacent the edges thereof and substantially lesser radius in a horizontal plane than one-half the overall diameter of the balloon in the same plane.

9. A salvage device comprising a balloon open at the bottom, the wall of the balloon being formed of outwardly curved flutes extending substantially the vertical distance of the wall, the flutes throughout their length being pro-formed to dimensions laterally and longitudinally to impart a transverse radius of curvature under inflation pressure which is materially less than the radius of the balloon at the same position, and each flute being formed of several panels, one of which near the largest diameter of the balloon being substantially rectangular and those near the top and bottom being somewhat trapezoidal to form a flute which on inflation tapers in depth from the middle to both ends of the flute and which become arcuately curved at the center along a long radius in a vertical plane a radius of curvature in a horizontal plane substantially smaller than that of the overall diameter of the balloon in the same plane.

10. A vertically fluted balloon, the flutes of which are of substantial depth to form intermediate portions having a relatively small transverse radius of curvature when inflated as compared to that of the balloon itself, tubular guides between adjacent flutes secured to the balloon extending along substantially the entire vertical extent thereof, and load sustaining elements passing freely through said guides and being connected at their upper and lower ends respectively.

11. A vertically fluted balloon, the flutes of which are of substantial depth to form intermediate portions having a relatively small transverse radius of curvature when inflated as compared to that of the balloon itself, the balloon being made of rubberized fabric and each flute being formed of a series of panels pre-shaped to form on inflation flutes decreasing in radius in planes generally perpendicular to the inner edges thereof from an intermediate section thereof toward both ends.

12. A vertically fluted balloon, the flutes of which are of substantial depth to form intermediate portions having a relatively small transverse radius of curvature when inflated as compared to that of the balloon itself, the balloon being made of rubberized fabric and each flute being formed of a series of panels, pre-shaped to form on inflation flutes decreasing in radius from an intermediate portion thereof toward both ends and having a long radius in planes generally perpendlcular tn the inner edges thereof of curva- Number Name Dab ture in a vertical plane less than that along the 1,844,993 Tomao Feb. 16, 1932 lateral edges thereof 2,379,758 Smith July 3, 1945 2,451,002 Sturtevant Oct. 12, 1948 Referenmw Cited in the file of this patent 2,5 1,2 3 Hiscock June 95 UNITED STATES PATENTS mREIGN PATENTS Number Name Date Number Country t 1,206,747 Eergeron V v- Nov. 28, 1916 337,326 France Feb, 13, 1904 1.3 411 4 San er n uly 12. 1 1 1 3,009 prance Man 1929 1,542,547 Gibbs Vv,. l June 16, 1925 

